When it comes to rare stamp auctions, this 1966 great rarity proved that less is sometimes more...
As we await the results of Grosvenor's auction of British Empire, Great Britain and Foreign Countries Postage Stamps (held in London yesterday, November 19) here's a quick look at a major highlight from its previous sale of British stamps on November 11-12.
Some of the greatest stamps in philatelic history have had designs which celebrate technology - like the iconic 1918 24c carmine rose and blue, aka the Inverted Jenny, for instance. Another 'technology' specimen, dated to 1966 was a star lot at Grosvenor's last auction...
While the Inverted Jenny celebrates the majesty of the bi-plane, this British design was issued to celebrate homegrown cars. Other stamps in the 1966 British technology series celebrated the hovercraft, satellite technology and nuclear power.
 Major rarity: the 1966 technology stamps, minus the missing E-Type Jaguar |
Featured in its design is Queen Elizabeth II's profile, alongside three quintessentially British automobiles, including the iconic Mini Cooper. There is one glaring omission, however: a larger-scale blue Jaguar E-Type which ought to be hovering about the Mini.
Sold in fine, unmounted and mint-quality quality condition (with some light folding down its vertical perforations) this block of four is today regarded as a major rarity.
In the end, it sold for £40,000 ($63,830 - including VAT and buyer's premium) amd was the star lot in Grosvenor's mid-November sale.
 The single used example sold by Grosvenor for £8,000; and (below) |
Elsewhere in the same auction, a used single stamp from the same series featuring the blue E-Type, yet missing the rest of the cars, also appeared.
Billed as "very rare" and bearing a cancellation stamped in the British town of Harlow, it sold for £8,000 ($12,766) - double its pre-sale estimate.
Watch this space for news on the results from Grosvenor's November 19 sale.
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